East Central Reporter

An amended complaint has been filed in Cook County Circuit Court, implicating Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard, Police Chief Lewis Lacey, and Board Member DeVonte Stewart in allegations concerning falsified police sergeant test scores and unlawful promotions. The lawsuit highlights a procedural issue with the Dolton Board of Fire and Police Commissioners (BOFPC), which is currently operating without a quorum due to two vacancies that have yet to be filled by Mayor Henyard.

The complaint claims that promotional testing for the position of police sergeant was compromised. According to the commission's rules, promotions should be made from those with the highest ratings. However, out of five officers who took the test, three failed to meet the 70% passing requirement even after merit points were added.

Despite this, a Final Eligibility List was published on November 3, 2023, listing all five officers including those who did not pass. Subsequently, on January 2, 2024, Mayor Henyard promoted four officers from this list to sergeant positions without board approval or discussion during a Dolton Board of Trustees meeting. Notably absent from these promotions was the officer with the highest score.

On January 8, 2024, an updated promotional list was released by DeVonte Stewart as the sole commissioner at that time. This revised list claimed all five officers had achieved passing scores despite no formal meeting or vote taking place as required by procedure.

These developments raise questions about adherence to proper protocols within Dolton's law enforcement promotion processes.